PUTHAM HOUSE: Hephzibah Jesudasan

Category Literature & Fiction
Format Paperback
Imprint Rupa
Price 395

ISBN: 978-93-5520-033-4
Pages: 184 pages
Date: 10th December 2021

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Putham House is about a young girl trapped in the suffocating confines of rigid social mores and prejudices.
As change sweeps over her small village surrounded by majestic palmyra trees, Lizzy barely clings to the hope that her life too will change for the better while the indolent and overbearing menfolk of her family wallow in their former eminence and do nothing to redeem the sinking fortunes of their once prosperous household. Torn between filial duty and her love for an earnest young man from the palmyra climbing community, Lizzy’s plight is symptomatic of many a thwarted life caught in the cruel grip of prejudice. Her efforts to make do with what little joys she can draw from her straitened circumstances, her largeness of spirit and her resilience are truly unforgettable. Hephzibah Jesudasan’s scrupulous and sensitive portrayal of the palymra climbers, whose lives are as precarious as their perch on the tall swaying palms, makes this book a modern classic.

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

Hephzibah Jesudasan is from Pulipunam in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. An eminent professor of English, she won much critical acclaim for her first novel Putham Veedu, a classic little gem hailed as one of the earliest realistic novels in Tamil. Her novels are memorable for her artless prose and earnest portrayal of the palmyra climbers of her region. She was also an accomplished translator, essayist, poet and writer of children’s books.
G. Geetha has a master’s degree in English from Loyola College, Madras University. After teaching English for 10 years, she is now a freelance translator based in Chennai.